House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) reacted with indignation at the idea that some Democrats want outgoing President Joe Biden to issue pre-emptive pardons for certain lawmakers and former officials likely to face reprisal from a Donald Trump administration.
Jordan's statement, during an interview with Fox Business' Larry Kudlow on Thursday, comes after Biden issued a controversial pardon for his son Hunter, from federal tax and firearm charges — and as Trump moves to put the FBI in the hands of Kash Patel, a MAGA conspiracy theorist who has vowed to "come after" members of the press and Trump's political opponents.
"Let me ask you something else, very amusing to me, but I don't understand it," said Kudlow. "Democrats are now asking Joe Biden for a pre-emptive pardon, okay, of Liz Cheney, Adam Schiff, and Tony Fauci. What is this all about? Pre-emptive pardons, for heaven's sakes."
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"Well, plus, didn't they just criticize — they, they went after some of my colleagues who, who they said asked for pardons," said Jordan. "I don't know if they ever did. But some of my colleagues who supposedly — they went after them, and now they're, they're doing the same thing."
Jordan is referring to findings from a House committee that some far-right members of Congress, like Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) privately lobbied Trump to pardon them on the way out the door following the Jan. 6 attack — an accusation these lawmakers deny. Contrary to Jordan's argument, this isn't exactly an equivalent situation, as Perry and others reportedly wanted the pardon out of genuine fear they were legally vulnerable for their role in the plot to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
But Jordan didn't see it that way.
"This is ridiculous," he said. "Donald Trump has never been about retribution. Donald Trump has been stopping the — these agencies from being weaponized against 'We the People' and, frankly, from being weaponized against him. And all the lawfare that we saw unfold where Fani Willis, Alvin Bragg, and Jack Smith went after President Trump on ridiculous things that we all know were just that, ridiculous. So that's always been President Trump's position. But this is just the left continuing their crazy antics and crazy, you know, concerns."
Notably, despite Jordan's assurances, Trump has openly said he wants to prosecute political opponents and critics, and recently even suggested Liz Cheney face a firing squad — although he later backtracked and insisted he just meant Cheney should have to brave the same combat zones where she supported sending U.S. troops.
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